The Cold War Era - Signs Of A Thaw: 1957
(They were just as suspicious of us)
For all the saber rattling and threats and accusations during the Cold War period, there were times, especially in the late 1950s, where signs of thaw in relations were starting to become noticed.
One was the great cultural exchange that went on between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the late 1950s. We got the Bolshoi Ballet and they got Louis Armstrong. Our pianist (Van Cliburn) won the prestigious Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow. Soviet cinema was being seen on a regular basis in art house movie theaters around the country.
And so the barriers started to come down, a little bit - but not for long. In December of 1957, CBS Radio, in what was hailed as a milestone, not only in broadcasting, but in East-West communications, hosted a program from their Radio Beat series. The program dealt with Education and the perceptions both the Russians and the Americans had towards each other.
Dwight Cook (CBS News): “We believe in the broadcast that you’re about to hear, that one of the rare firsts of this year, is coming about. Because for the first time, as far as we know, in the history of radio you’re going to hear an actual, unrehearsed discussion between a group of educators sitting in a studio in Moscow Russia and another group of educators sitting around a table with me here in CBS New York. Our discussion is going to be on the purpose of Education.”
All very polite and non-confrontational - no dissidents commandeering the microphone shouting about Gulags. Three leading educators from the U.S. sitting around asking questions of three leading educators from the Soviet Union - and vice versa. What it did was establish the idea that neither of the two super powers really knew anything about each other.
It was short lived however. When the U2 Spyplane scandal surfaced in 1960, what little thaw there had been froze solid and stayed that way for a very long time before resuming.
But in the late 1950s there was that window of opportunity.
did they podcast it? ;^)
I'll see your spy plane and raise you a missile crisis.
I'll see your not-really-a-communist country and raise you a less-than-50-percent-of-eligible-voters-voting democracy.
no longer even have Foreign Correspondents or Bureaus ... then $hit from them foriners just happens and we never seen it comin' ...nope ...hmmm?
I'm Boycotting NewsCorp! Heres what not to buy: http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php?c=news...
I remember being frightened of "the Russians", who were supposedly going to bomb us in our beds at any second, for years and years.
I also remember the first time I saw film of actual Russian people. I was stunned! They looked exactly like us! I lost my fear of them in that moment. And guess what? They never did bomb us in our beds after all.
Good stuff. And I'll be sure to pass it on to education interested parties.
This program has a deal with Education and the perceptions both the Russians and the Americans had towards each other - it is a great approach in education I must admit. Will use some of these facts in my essay writing in college.
So fascinating looking back into this era. It seems almost laughable now, with Russia being overrun by corruption and military antiquation. zend, copywr.
I also remember the first time I saw movie of actual Russian people. I was stunned! They looked exactly like us! I lost my fear of them in that moment. And guess what? They never did bomb us in our beds after all.
I remember being frightened of "the Russians", who were supposedly going to bomb us in our beds at any second, for years and years. I also remember the first time I saw film of actual Russian coupon comrade people. I was stunned! They looked exactly like us! I lost my fear of them in that moment. And guess what? They never did bomb us in our beds after all.
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